Saturday, September 22, 2012

Have you ever ridden a "Power Swing"?

Wow!  What a day!

Today at Shiloh I had the privilege of serving a church group from Livingston, NJ.  The group of about 50 had a chance to do some crazy-fun stuff on the challenge courses.  Jonathan Frank (the camp director's son) taught me how to run the "Power Swing" (Sometimes affectionately called "The Flying Squirrel").

The swing consists of two heavy gauge steel cables attached to two trees about 30 feet apart.  The cables come down in a "V" shape to meet in the middle.  This is where the kids get harnessed in and from where they will swing.  After this they are pulled up about 40 to 50 feet in the air and they get to release themselves and swing down at high speeds.  Talk about INTENSE! 

I was amazed at how brave these teenagers were.  Out of the entire group only one person was really a screamer.  We even had one teen who posed for pictures like Spiderman hanging upside-down from a strand of his web!

As we finished up on the power swing, the kids moved on to some other challenge course elements led by Jon Frank (the camp director) and George (one of the other men on staff at camp).

After a short water break George and I led the teens on a beautiful hike overlooking the Monksville Reservoir and Dam.  Though some of the kids were complaining they were tired and didn't want to go on a hike, once they saw the beautiful views they were all glad they came along.  On the top of the mountain George also challenged each of the teens with a great devotional about sharing our faith with others and praying for God's help in reaching out to those who need Him most.

God really blessed me this weekend by allowing me to be a part of this groups special retreat.  I look forward to sharing God's love with more kids, teens, and even the group leaders in the coming weeks.

Lastly, our support is coming along.  At this point I am still working three days each week at Sears, but I can hardly wait until I can give my full attention to the needs of Shiloh.  God is blessing us and surprising us along this journey, but please continue to pray for our financial support.  We still have quite a bit to go before we reach our goal. 

God Bless,
-Tim

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Welcome to our new blog!

Welcome to our new blog!

This will be the space where you can see what is going on with the DuMont's as we serve God at Shiloh Bible Camp!

Amanda and I are excited to begin our time as missionaries at Shiloh Bible Camp.  Even though we are still raising support, I've already begun some construction work on Shiloh's new gym.  For those of you who are unaware, Shiloh's new gym has been about 8 years in the making (planning, permits, cutting through red-tape, more permits, etc...)  In conjunction with the local ministry of Servant's Heart, I have been installing duct work, running electrical, and painting.  The actual gymnasium in the new building is at the point where it is functional, but the bathrooms, meeting rooms, game room, wallyball court, and ropes course equipment all still need some time to get finished.  We are hoping that in the next two months this building will be fully functional quite a sight to see at that!

Despite all of the work going on in the gym, Amanda and I are still in a bit of a transition period. Amanda is looking for a full time teaching position for the coming school year (she does have a para-professional aide position locked in if she cannot find a tenure track position) and I am still currently working at the local Sears Hardware store while we continue to raise support.  As our monthly support rises, I will be working fewer days each week at Sears and more days at Shiloh.

We have several financial support goals along our journey.  Each goal will allow us to invest more time into our love of sharing the gospel and working with children at camp. Our first financial support goal will be about $15,000 each year.  When we reach this goal I will be able to leave Sears completely and will be working at Shiloh full time.  Our final goal will be $55,000.  At that amount of support Amanda will be able to leave her job as well and we will be able to start a family.

Please feel free to leave comments, prayer requests, or questions for us here.  Again, we thank you for being a part of our Journey here at Shiloh!